Coffee Break
by Crazy Girl Person
Summary: It is amazing what a simple coffee break between two close people can do.


A/N: So I said to myself, "Man, TCGeek had a bad week. There must be something I can do to cheer her up. Wait, I know!"

As if it was a mystery . . .

So I hope this picks you up after all the crap that's happened. Here's to hoping next week's better!

Coffee Break

The coffee pot gurgled as a steady column of steam rose from the back, filling the room with the brew's aroma. Angie gently breathed in the scent of the roasted blend, expelling a sigh as she poured two cups of the fresh beverage. She began rummaging through the cabinets for the milk, cream and sugar, knowing by heart just how Caduceus' best surgeon liked his coffee. Just a hint of sugar, thoroughly stirred and dissolved, then no more than a spoonful of 1 percent milk, left to swirl in the whirlpool the initial mixing had left.

She giggled softly as she poured in the milk and watched it dance with the dark liquid. It had struck her odd how particular he was about his coffee at first, but to each their own. Especially considering he all but lived off the stuff.

'_I swear, if we drew his blood nothing but coffee would come out.'_

The nurse gave an amused sigh at that thought, adding sugar and cream to her own cup before taking them to a corner table. There sat a lone surgeon, his forehead resting on his folded arms as he breathed slowly. The sight drew a yawn from Angie. It was late, they were both tired, and neither was looking forward to the mountain of paperwork that awaited them. She set the drinks down and lightly tapped the man's arm.

Derek Stiles slowly lifted his head, his flared bangs adding emphasis to his groggy blink and lopsided glasses. Angie smiled as she pushed the coffee cup in front of him, to which his eyes shot open wide and a startled jerk straightened his spine. No matter how many times the nurse had seen him react like that when presented with coffee, it still made her laugh.

He joined in with a low chuckled as he reached for the cup. "Thanks Angie." He brought it to his lips and took a small sip and she copied his actions. At first Angie's focus was on the sweet texture that caressed her tongue. Her eyes barely paid any mind to the happenings just over the rim of her cup until Derek lowered his to the table, just before a shudder clenched his shoulders. She brought her drink down to chest level quickly as she blinked at him. "What's wrong?"

He pursed his lips, his brow crinkled slightly as he looked at her. "Is it me or is it getting cold in here?"

Angie leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes as she gauged the temperature. "Now that you mention it, it is a little chilly in here."

"A little?" He scoffed as his body succumbed to another tremble. "It's _freezing_! How did it get so cold all of a sudden?"

"Drink your coffee. That should warm you up."

Derek did as instructed and brought the cup back to his lips as best as his shaking hands could. The hot liquid did wonders for his digestive system, but the warmth simply refused to emanate from his esophagus or stomach, leaving his other internal organs to quiver in agony. Angie heard a brief clatter of his teeth before he clenched his jaw. She gave an inquisitive look to the shivering man. The room had indeed gotten colder, but it was not that uncomfortable. At least she did not think so. Yet the doctor was clearly of a different opinion, as his shaking body denoted. A quiet hum came from her as she grew worried.

"Dr. Stiles, lets go back to your office. It'll probably be warmer in there."

"Yeah, you're probably right." he said in a slightly broken voice. With a soft creak from their chairs, the two gathered their coffee and walked down the hall.

-----

Angie had been right. The office was warmer, but her worry only grew along with the tremors of Derek's body. He had even taken a blanket from his couch and snuggly wrapped it around his shoulders. Yet his shivering was persistent, leaving Angie to exit the room for a moment and return with a thermometer clenched in her hand.

"Hold still for a second."

Derek held his breath as he felt her soft fingers tuck his hair behind his ear. His shudders abated as she took his temperature, her face growing serious when she withdrew the thermometer and looked at it. "Well, you don't have a fever."

She set it down on the coffee table, the hand she used to hold his ear still lightly gripping it. That hand moved to press against his cheek, her other doing the same as she carefully tilted his head towards her.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she examined his eyes. "Any nausea, light-headedness?"

"Erm . . . no." Derek blinked. "I'm not sick or anything. I've just never been very good at handling the cold."

Angie pulled back and twisted her mouth as she looked him over. "If you're sure." She briefly brushed her fingers against his forehead and ran them through his ruffled bangs. Derek's heart had been left pounding by Angie's impromptu examination, but the feel of her fingers fluttering through his hair set off another chill in his body. His shoulders clenched as it bit into him and rung a violent shudder through the rest of his frame.

Angie's brows arched in rue as she rubbed his back. At first there was no change, but several minutes of persistence did get the chill to let up, though it refused to relinquish its grip on the man. She narrowed her eyes, accepting the cold's challenge. Moving behind the couch, the nurse placed both hands on his shoulders and began kneading them. Instantly, Derek loosened his hunch and leaned into the massage. There was still a shake to his jaw as he let out a content sigh, but over all his shivering died down, much to the nurse's relief. "Is that better?"

"Yes, thank you." Derek sighed again.

"Your muscles are really tense. You should try to relax more."

"But when I try to relax, you yell at me for slacking off."

"I do not!" She scoffed, smacking him lightly on the head. "And when I do, it's only because I catch you sleeping or playing Pokémon when you should be doing paperwork."

"Hey, I gotta catch 'em all, Angie."

She laughed and gently hit him across the temple again. "You are seriously weird, you know that?"

"Only too well."

Their soft laughter quickly faded. Normally timid ticks from a wall clock grew bold in midst of the silence, prompting Derek to count them in his mind while his nurse continued rubbing his shoulders. He must have dozed off, because he could have sworn he had only counted eleven before Angie said, "Our break's over. We'd better get that paper work out of the way."

Derek lifted his head, giving it a groggy shake as his eyes blinked open. "Are you still cold?" she added.

"A little." He twitched under the feel of his skin crawling across his back. "But I'm warmer now. Thanks, Angie."

"You're welcome."

A few blinks brought his eyes into focus and he frowned, for the first thing he saw was his and Angie's scarcely touched coffee cups. They were sure to be cold by now, room temperature at best. "Sorry I made you waste your break."

"Huh?" the nurse looked at him as she gathered an armful of folders. "Oh, it was only coffee. Nothing to get upset over." She could only roll her eyes at the mild glare he sent her. She had to admit she loved coffee too. However, between the unparalleled surgical team, one merely loved coffee. The other depended on it for survival.

Cradling the files to her chest, she walked over to the couch and took a seat beside him. "Let's get started. The sooner the better, right?"

She spread the documents on the table and the two began working on their respected files. Paperwork was seldom an exciting activity, so it was no surprise that time slowed to a crawl as the slither of ink on paper filled the room, along with a random sigh from the doctor that hated it so much. Angie could only smile despite his less than enthusiastic demeanor.

'_At least he's getting it done.'_

That smile dipped as she heard clattering teeth bite into the exasperated breaths. She looked over, a meager frown appearing on her face as he began shivering again. Derek said nothing as he lifted his pen from the paper, clenching the blanket with his free hand. He closed his eyes as the shaking increased violently, the cover draped over his shoulders clearly doing nothing for it.

Angie did not hesitate for a moment as she placed a hand on his shoulder and began rubbing his back again. He opened his eyes and looked at her, a faint smile and blush on his face as his shivering depleted like before. She felt her face mold to his expression. Averting her eyes, she was unable to avoid the sight of the numerous documents that awaited them.

It was Angie's turn to send them an annoyed glare. She could not get her work done and comfort Derek at the same time. The surgeon would always groan that the paperwork was killing him, but he would eventually suck it up and get it done. This time, though he was a far cry from death, he was in physical discomfort. This was hardly something Angie wanted, despite having had to get on his case in the past, but there was nothing to be done for it. Not if they wanted to finish their work on time.

Unless . . .

With her heart pounding in her chest, Angie tugged one side of the blanket from his grasp and slipped it over her. She felt his enlarged eyes watch as she wrapped it tightly around them both, scooting closer until she felt his trembling body against hers. She met his surprised look with a smile. "Is that better?"

"Uh . . ." he stuttered through blinking eyes. "I . . .yes, actually."

Derek sighed and allowed himself to relax into her warmth. Though his nerves only added to the tremors, her additional body heat did settle them. He returned the smile, his flesh finally beginning to thaw with her beside him. He reached back for his paperwork as she pulled hers closer.

The two silently continued filling out the forms, bundled snuggly next to one another. Occasionally, Derek's eyes would flicker up somewhat mournfully at his cold coffee. His disappointment held for only a second before he returned to his paperwork. The third time he did this, he was surprised to see he was already a third of the way done and the forth, he could only chuckle quietly at the abandoned beverage.

The fifth time his eyes diverted from the forms, they moved not to the cup, but to the girl at his side. The blush that lapped his cheeks deepened as she caught his gaze. A rose tint kissed her face as well and the two returned to their paperwork once again, a shy smile on both their faces. For the rest of the night, their coffee cups got not as much as a second glance, standing ignored long after the two finished their shifts and left. Eventually, those cups would be picked up by the janitor, but neither surgeon nor nurse would even notice.

After all, who needed coffee when they had something much better?

----

A/N: Man, I seriously laughed out loud at the Pokémon line and my cat looked at me weird. Maybe _he's_ a Pokémon? Some kind of unholy offspring of Skitty and Sneasel. Gah, I'm a dork . . .

Don't you judge me! Derek's right! We hafta catch 'em all!!! (hides behind Pokémon Sapphire box)


End file.
